IPR Enforcement Proceedings In Cambodia Civil proceedings against IPR infringement in Cambodia Criminal measures against IPR infringement in Cambodia Border measures against IPR infringement in Cambodia Mediation / DIP administrative proceedings Coping with online copyright and trademark infringement in Cambodia

1. CAMBODIAN IPR ENFORCEMENT:
FROM RIGHT UNDERSTANDING TO EFFECTIVE ACTION
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contents of this document do not constitute, and
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approach a legal professional if you require legal
advice.
1. Overview
Cambodia is a civil law country, and as such,
written laws contain all of the rules and
procedures governing intellectual property
enforcement.
Under the laws of Cambodia, an IPR holder can
enforce their rights against an alleged infringement
through 03 avenues: (i) civil proceedings; (ii)
criminal proceedings; and (iii) border control
measures.
Notably, although not expressly provided for in
Cambodian laws, the Cambodia Department of
Intellectual Property (“DIP”) may act as a mediator
in cases involving IPR infringement in Cambodia. As
such, mediation by DIP may be used as an
alternative to resolve an alleged IPR infringement
in Cambodia. Mediation by DIP may also serve as
an administrative proceeding to deal with an
alleged IPR infringement although DIP is not
competent to issue sanctions against the
infringers. In other words, an IPR infringement may
be also addressed through administrative
proceedings DIP.
2. Cambodian IPR Enforcement Agencies
2.1. Cambodian Courts:
The Cambodia judicial system consists of
Municipal/Provincial Courts (Court of the First
Instance), Appellate Court (or Appeal Court) and
Supreme Court. There is no separate commercial
or IP court. All civil cases including intellectual
property civil disputes fall under the jurisdiction of
municipal/provincial courts at the first instance. A
case involving intellectual property must be filed in
the municipal or provincial courts where the
defendant resides, is domiciled, or has a registered
address, business, or representative office.
Neither the Cambodian Trademark Law, Copyright
Law nor Patent Law set out the detailed
procedures to file a civil IP lawsuit in the court. The
procedure to file a civil lawsuit is laid out under the
Cambodian. Code of Civil Procedure.
2.2. Cambodia Import-Export Inspection
and Fraud Suppression Department (CAMCONTR
OL):
CAMCONTROL is under the supervision of the
Ministry of Commerce entrusted to enforce
the Intellectual Property rights in cooperation with
the customs and economic police at the borders
and in the domestic market. This department also
uses its authority to keep track on the movement
of goods to identify counterfeiting goods or
pirating products by comparing their information
with the data provided by Intellectual Property
Department. More information on this
Department can be found at
https://www.camcontrol.gov.kh/.
2.3. Cambodian Economic Police:
Economic Police, a division of the Ministry of
Interior, is responsible for conducting criminal
investigations, under the supervision of the
prosecutor, into alleged economic law violations,
including intellectual property laws and the Law on
the Management of Quality and Safety of Products
and Services (the last-mentioned in cooperation
with CAMCONTROL).
Under the "Declaration on the Duties, Obligations,
Rights, and Structures of the Anti-Economic Crime
Police Department," the Economic Police is
responsible for monitoring and inspecting all law
KENFOX IP & Law Office
QUAN Nguyen Vu | Partner
quannv@kenfoxlaw.com
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2. enforcement activities; for taking measures and
combating economic crime or referring requests to
the appropriate institutions; for cooperating with
competent authorities and institutions to. To this
end, a dedicated office within the Economic Police
has been established, the Anti-Intellectual
Property Rights Crime Office, which is responsible
for conducting searches and investigations;
identifying targets in collaboration with competent
authorities in order to collect evidence; and filing
legal action. According to the Criminal Procedure
Code, economic police officers are either Judicial
Police Officers (see said Code's Article 60, F) or
Judicial Police Agents. In general, economic police
is an enforcement agency to provide supports in all
enforcement activities.
2.4. Cambodian Customs
(https://customs.gov.kh/en):
Cambodian Customs or Customs Administration
refers to the Cambodian Customs and Excise under
Department of the Ministry of Economy and
Finance, which includes customs officers and is
responsible for the administration and
enforcement of customs law, the collection of
duties, taxes, and fees, as well as the application of
other laws and regulations governing the
importation, exportation, and movement of goods.
Cambodian customs authorities are liable to
enforcing border controls in the event of alleged
trademark and/or copyright infringement. Its duty
is to prevent the import/export/transit of
counterfeit goods and pirated copyright goods
into/out of Cambodia. Customs protection of IP
rights is normally initiated by the application made
by the Right-holder or by their own initiatives (ex-
officio action) upon prima facie evidence or strong
information from the public. The application often
accompanied by sufficient information on the
products covered by registered mark in question
and proof of ownership of rights and the required
deposit of collateral for damages in case the
complaint is unjustified. In the contrary, if the
customs officers act under ex-officio initiatives,
they should get all possible information about the
products, the usual distribution of product in the
country, the information on monitoring and
inception of the suspected shipment.
2.5. Committee for Suppression
of Copyright Infringement (or Inter-Ministerial
Committee for Suppression of Movie and Video
Infringement):
This agency has been established in accordance
with the Government Sub-Decree No. 63 dated
September 04, 2000 in order to control the
infringement of copyright and related right on
Movie, video and DVD. Committee for Suppression
of Copyright Infringement is a special agency
established by the Government Sub-Decree to
suppress the violation of copyright and circulation
of pirated products within domestic market.
2.6. Enforcement Section of the Cambodian
Intellectual Property Department:
This agency plays the role as a mediator to settle
disputes on trademark matters between the right
owner (complainant) and the infringer (defendant).
DIP resumes responsibilities that include drawing
up or at least advising on IPR enforcement policy,
providing consultation and expertise to courts and
coordinating with other Cambodian enforcement
bodies on IP violation complaints in Cambodia.
This Enforcement Section of DIP enforces IPRs
through the following initiatives:
 Ex-officio actions pursuant to the
provisions of the Law on Trade Marks,
Trade Names, and Unfair Competition. This
initiative is typically taken when there is
clear evidence of IPR violation or
infringement, such as prohibited activities
as defined by law, or when a well-known
trademark is violated, or when other
clearly unfair competition-related acts
occur.
 Acts upon request of the complainant - this
enforcement action is typically used to
bring the two parties together to negotiate
based on the evidence presented on both
sides. This division does not have the
authority to give judgment on any party,
but can only assist them in coming to
terms in order to put an end to and
prevent further infringement.
 Acts as the technical advisor and
references to the court. This action will be
taken at the judge's request if the court
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3. encounters a case that is complex in terms
of IP principles or the interpretation of IP
law.
3. IPR Enforcement Proceedings In Cambodia
3.1. Civil proceedings against IPR infringement in
Cambodia
IPR holders that suffer damage from an
infringement are entitled to file civil claims for
damages and specific relief from the infringer. The
Cambodian Civil Code and the Civil Procedure Code
provide procedures for civil remedies and
provisional measures against IPR infringements in
Cambodia. Civil proceedings begin with a
statement of claims (lawsuit), which is to be filed
with the competent court in Cambodia. Usually,
the residence/location of the defendant will
establish the jurisdiction. Cambodia does not
support a discovery system; therefore, all evidence
must be collected and secured in advance of the
lawsuit.
In Cambodia, there are three levels of court:
Provincial/Municipal Court, Appeals Court, and the
Supreme Court. The decision of the Supreme
Court is final.
The judgment may be appealed to the Appeals
Court and then to the Supreme Court, depending
on the circumstances. The Cambodian Laws
empowers its court to issue injunctions to halt
infringement or impending infringement of
patents, but leaves the criteria for obtaining
injunctions undefined. However, under Cambodia's
Civil Procedure Code, the court can grant
preliminary/temporary relief, pending a final
judgment, when the plaintiff establishes a strong
prima facie case on the merits, as well as a
compelling argument that if the defendant is
permitted to continue infringing the plaintiff's
design during the pendency of the action, it will be
unable to recover damages. If the court grants this
type of preliminary relief, the petitioner is typically
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4. required to post security for the defendant's
damages if the petitioner loses the case.
In the framework of civil proceedings, the plaintiff
may request that the Cambodian court:
 make a determination of the IPR
infringement;
 order the termination of the IPR
infringement;
 order a temporary suspension or
confiscation of goods suspected of being
counterfeit and/or destruction of the
infringing goods;
 order the confiscation, exclusion from the
channels of commerce, destruction or
alteration of the infringing objects;
 order the confiscation, exclusion from the
channels of commerce, destruction or
alteration of the tools and equipment used
to manufacture the infringing objects;
 order the defendant to pay damages
caused by the IPR infringement and
justifiable legal costs and expenses;
 order the defendant to provide
information about third parties
participating in the infringement, etc.
Generally, in respect of damages, an IPR holder
may be awarded the proven damages resulting
from the infringement plus litigation costs. Despite
all of the above, civil actions against IPR
infringements in Cambodia are rarely used because
judges who act in intellectual property cases often
do not have adequate training in matters involving
IP laws and it takes an extremely long time for a
case to be processed.
Flowchart for criminal proceedings against
trademark/copyright infringement in Cambodia.
3.2. Criminal measures against IPR infringement
in Cambodia
Criminal prosecutions for IPR infringement are very
rare in Cambodia, but they exact the most severe
punishment. The unlawful use of a trademark or
copyright shall entail criminal liability only in the
event that the infringer’s illegal activities cause
substantial damages, or if trademark or copyright
infringement is repeated. The criminal procedure is
used against large-scale counterfeit operations or
gross infringers that manufacture and distribute
counterfeit goods in large quantities all over the
country.
Upon detection of an infringement, subject to
severity thereof, the right holder may consider
submitting a complaint to Anti-Economic Crime
Police Department (“Economic Police”) or
Cambodian Counter Counterfeit Committee
(“CCCC”) who will consider whether to pursue the
case. Statutorily, a right holder may appeal the
prosecutor’s decision. CCCC is a joint take force
consisting of 14 ministries. According to Sub-
Decree No. 150 dated 31 October 2014 and Prakas
No. 5619 dated 23rd December 2014, CCCC is
mainly tasked with combating all kinds of
counterfeit products that are harmful to health
and social safety in Cambodia.
Criminal remedies against infringers are explicitly
provided under the Cambodian Patent Law,
Trademark Law and Copyright Law.
3.3. Border measures against IPR infringement in
Cambodia
Cambodia has no customs recordal system in
place. A general complaint requesting Customs to
look out for counterfeits will not be accepted.
Border measures are available only in relation to
trademarks and copyrights under the current legal
framework. This means border measures are not
applicable to industrial design or patent rights in
Cambodia.
However, if an IPR holder uses an exclusive
distributor in Cambodia, he may register an
exclusive distributorship with the Department of IP
Rights. Upon acceptance, it can be forwarded to
Customs, who will monitor and prevent any
imports not made by the registered exclusive
distributor. This approach protects rights may aid
in the interception of counterfeits, as shipments
are more closely scrutinized at the point of import
by Customs.
IPR holders in Cambodia may petition Customs and
the courts for border measures against a
suspicious shipment. To this end, the following
documents must be provided:
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5. (i) Prima facie evidence showing the shipment
to be imported into Cambodia contains
counterfeit and a description of the to-be-
imported goods.
(ii) Evidence of the IP registrations in Cambodia.
Cambodian Customs will suspend clearance and
suspend the customs clearance for the shipment at
the border as well as immediately notify the
importer and the applicant of the suspension and
the grounds of such suspension if the border
measure is granted and the shipment is identified.
The Cambodian Customs or other competent
authorities may allow IPR holder, importers or
exporter to examine the goods, and take some
samples of the goods for examination, testing and
analyzing to determine whether the goods are
counterfeit/pirated.
Similar to border control measures being adopted
in other countries, if the petitioner fails to initiate
court proceedings on the merits within ten
working days of being notified that the shipment
has been suspended, the suspended shipment will
be released. The petitioner may request an
extension of the 10-day deadline for an additional
ten working days if there are compelling reasons.
Flowchart for customs recordal against IPR
infringement in Cambodia.
3.4. Mediation / DIP administrative proceedings
Although DIP (see:
http://www.cambodiaip.gov.kh/) plays the role as
a mediator and does not have authority to issue a
judgement or sanctions on the infringers, various
owners choose to request this agency to resolve an
alleged trademark infringement. The proceeding
starts by presenting a petition and other
supporting document to claim IPR infringement to
DIP who will then summon the alleged infringer in
for an administrative mediation. Thus, DIP plays a
mediator role in seeking compromise between the
owner and the infringer. In this regard, they will
request both parties to provide the relevant
documents or evidence to support their legal
ownership in the contested period. The process
normally requires two or three hearings,
depending on the position taken by the infringer.
This face-to-face dispute settlement mechanism
enables both sides to explain and clarify their
rights in the presence of a competent registrar. If
the parties do not reach a common agreement, the
registrar will propose suitable alternative options.
Although DIP does not have the authority to
compel attendance, issue orders or awards, or
impose the seizure or destruction of counterfeit
goods, the above administrative proceeding
through DIP’s mediation has an excellent track
record of convincing infringers to sign undertakings
to cease their unlawful activities and would put an
end to a dispute. DIP's mediation process has
established itself as transparent and credible. This
procedure is currently the most effective way to
resolve a trademark dispute in Cambodia.
For an alleged copyright infringement, the parties
may seek intervention from the Ministry of Culture
and Fine Arts (MCFA). Information on MCFA can be
found at http://www.mcfa.gov.kh/.
3.5 Coping with online copyright and trademark
infringement in Cambodia
The Cambodian Patent Law, Trademark Law or
Copyright Law do not encompass specific
provisions on e-commerce/digital infringement.
However, a recently enacted Law on E-Commerce
in Cambodia generally provides that if online
intermediaries or e-commerce service providers
knew that the content stored on their platforms
may expose them to civil or criminal liability, they
must take the following steps immediately:
 Removing the suspected infringing contents
and stopping providing services in connection
with it.
 Maintaining contents as evidence and report
the facts and identities of suspected infringers
to the Ministry of Posts and
Telecommunications (MPTC) and other
appropriate authorities. MPTC may further
force online intermediaries or traders to:
- Remove the infringing content;
- Suspend or halt rendering services to whom
the infringing content belongs; or
- Suspend or cease services in respect to online
contents.
4. Key Takeaways
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6. As a least developed country, the Cambodian
public has a limited awareness and understanding
of intellectual property rights. As such, it is
preferable to choose the appropriate enforcement
strategy in order to efficiently and effectively deal
with an alleged IPR infringement in Cambodia.
From the practice we have experienced so far, to
fight against an infringement in Cambodia,
whether an enforcement action is taken through
any avenue, the first step is to collect as much
evidence as possible. In more serious cases, a
rights holder may hire a lawyer or a private
investigator to conduct an investigation to confirm
the offense, determine its scope, and identify the
infringers. We additionally provide hereunder
some basic recommended actions to cope with an
alleged infringement in Cambodia.
Self-protection measures:
 Using proper trademark, copyright, design
or patent notices on products to deter
potential infringers;
 Serving an alleged infringer with a Cease
and Desist Letter (“C&D Letter”) may serve
as an amicable measure to reach out-of-
court resolution to deal with an alleged IPR
infringement in Cambodia. The C&D Letter
will put the infringer on notice of the IPR
holder’s concerns, explain the nature of
the infringement, outline protected rights
in and request that the alleged infringer
cease their infringement. Experience has
taught us that the C&D Letters are highly
effective when they are accompanied by
persistent follow-up. In our most recent
C&D letter campaign, most of infringers
issued with a C&D Letter and then
subsequently chased with follow-up calls
provided us with an undertaking and
ceased the infringing activity.
Enforcement actions with involvement of
Cambodian authorities:
Cambodia Department of Intellectual Property:
From the practice we have experienced so far,
administrative route via DIP’s mediation is more
preferable when dealing with small-scale
infringers, as this agency is proved to be more
efficient and rapid in handling infringements in a
cost effective manner.
Cambodia Court: Infringement litigation before the
courts of Cambodia are not prevalent. No
specialized IP court has been established in
Cambodia up to now. Disputes on intellectual
property rights remain a relatively new and
complicated issue in Cambodia. IPR statutes in
Cambodia are insufficient, vague and unclear
which result in a lot of hurdles to enforce copyright
in Cambodia by civil infringement action in Court.
Thus, civil action is not a common route for
enforcement of IPR in Cambodia.
However, in some serious and large-scale
infringement cases which causes negative impact
on the IPR holder’s business, the IPR holder may
consider initiating a civil proceeding against the
infringer before a Cambodian competent court.
Bringing legal proceedings against the infringer will
only be recommendable if (i) the IPR are properly
registered in Cambodia, (ii) the IPR holder can
prove there is a clear infringement over his rights,
and (ii) the value of succeeding in the infringement
action outweighs the costs of the proceedings.
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